Taiwan-listed clinical-stage biotech HanchorBio Inc (TWSE:7827) announced on Wednesday that it is looking to broaden the development path for HCB101, its lead oncology asset, through a new partnership.

HanchorBio's subsidiary, FBD Biologics Limited, has signed a strategic memorandum of understanding (MOU) with InxMed (Shanghai) Co Ltd, a late-stage biotechnology company focused on cancer drug resistance and tumour microenvironment biology.

Under the MOU, the two companies will conduct preclinical and translational research evaluating HCB101 in combination with InxMed's investigational assets, including IN10018/ifebemtinib, a FAK inhibitor, and OMTX705, a FAP-targeted antibody-drug conjugate.

HanchorBio noted that for investors, the agreement is not a near-term revenue event. No licensing economics, upfront payment, or clinical trial commitment has been disclosed. The significance is strategic: HanchorBio is testing whether HCB101 can move beyond its current clinical anchors and become a broader combination asset for difficult-to-treat solid tumours.

HCB101 is a clinical-stage SIRP alpha-Fc fusion protein targeting the CD47/SIRP alpha pathway, designed to enhance macrophage-mediated anti-tumour activity. HanchorBio has been developing the asset with gastric cancer as an important clinical anchor, while also exploring other solid tumours, including head and neck cancer and colorectal cancer.

HanchorBio says that this collaboration gives it a way to test whether HCB101's macrophage-centred immune activation can be paired with drugs targeting the tumour's physical and biological defences, including fibrosis, stromal barriers, and immune exclusion.